Why He Calls

Chapter 14

Celeste’s POV

I went to Aden’s school next to explain that we got a last minute opportunity and had to move. I told them I needed his transcripts for when I transferred him and they had me fill out a bunch of paperwork for withdrawing him. I stopped and picked up some boxes, duck tape, totes, labels and then went home.

I had to keep up the ruse that we were moving far away. Since they knew where Aden went to school, it wouldn’t be long before they found our house. Whether through tracking or just stealing our personnel file from the school.

I was still putting off the conversation I had to have with Aden and Kate. I was more worried about how Kate would react than Aden at this point. Especially given our conversation last night, and how he still seemed to be upset with me. But I just got to work packing as soon as I got home. I know that’s not the responsible way to handle things but that’s what I did.

Monica asked if I needed any help. I told her no, just keep the kids out of my way. But she was confused as to why I wasn’t having the kids help me pack. I didn’t have a good answer for her so I just accepted when she offered to start packing the kitchen things for me.

Aden came in and asked if he could go play with the other kids and said Kate was taking a nap. I went to check on her and took advantage of them both being preoccupied to really get things moving. Monica asked, “Are you planning on selling your house or maybe renting it out?”

I hadn’t actually thought past needing to abandon it. But honestly, renting it would be a good idea. The pack wouldn’t bother anyone here or damage my house, if I had humans living here. Violating the secrecy doctrine would cause the council to get involved and I knew they didn’t want that.

“Renting it would be a good idea. I’m just worried about the logistics of being a landlord from so far away.” I replied.

“You could use a management company to take care of things for you. Or just rent it out to someone you know.” She suggested.

“Someone I know? Did you have someone specific in mind?” I inquire.

“Actually miss, I was wondering if you’d be willing to rent it to me?” She asks.

“OH? Have you been looking for a place?” I asked. “And you don’t have to keep calling me miss.” I add quickly. She nods in agreement before explaining her conundrum.

“I’ve been looking for a while now. I’ve always wanted to have kids, even if I had to raise them myself. But because of a condition I have, I have a much shorter window of time to get pregnant. I chose to live at home with my family so I could save up for a donor and IVF. I haven’t told anyone else this yet, but the last round actually stuck….” She explained nervously but also I could tell she was bursting with excitement underneath.

“So you’re going to have a baby? Congratulations.” I said sincerely happy for her. But then my curiosity got the best of me. “I’m sorry if I’m intruding, but you have a mate, how come you don’t want to move in with her?”

“That’s kind of been a sore subject. I do want her to live with me. And she’s broached the subject several times. To the point, I feel bad seeing how hurt she looks that I keep pushing things off.

I was upfront with her about my plans to try having a baby from the beginning. She accepted this plan and even helped me find potential donors we both liked. She offered to turn her guest room into a nursery for me. I explained how I was saving up before I moved out and she said I could still save living with her, she would keep covering all the bills. I didn’t want to be a financial burden on my partner, I wanted us to be equals so I suggested we get a place together once I had a successful round and had saved to move.

She agreed to wait till then but I’m still scared of the idea of moving to a pack and because of her position she can’t live outside of her packlands. So I just thought it’d be easier to get my own place that was closer to her pack until we figure things out more.”

I thought about everything she had said. We had taken a break from packing and were comfy on the couch talking like two close friends at this point. It felt really good to have a female friend again. I had felt like I never had time to make friends the past few years or if I did grow close to someone, it was hard staying friends with a human who didn’t know about us. And the only werewolves I had interacted with since moving here were Kalinda and Electra before I went to Obsidian Ocean Pack’s ball.

“How long have you and your mate known each other? And if you don’t mind me asking, what’s her name? And do you know what pack she’s from?”

“We actually meet on my twenty first birthday. I just finished my degree and was trying alcohol for the first time, celebrating with some friends at the pub on main st and she was there. She flirted with me all night and we had this really cute flirty back and forth, ‘who’s going to make the first step?’ kind of friendship for several months before she told me her secret and then we started dating.

Her name’s Emerald. Oh and she’s part of the Obsidian Ocean Pack.”

She was gushing reminiscing about meeting her mate which I thought was adorable. Because she’s human she doesn’t have to deal with the full extent of the mate bond. She doesn’t feel the pain of being away from your mate for extended periods of time, if anything it would just be a small hollow or empty feeling but nothing like we experience. She would still feel less intense sparks, a smaller version of our pull to each other, and once she’s marked she’ll be able to mind link her mate. And her mate would be able to sense things like her emotions, if she’s in danger, and be able to find her a lot faster if she were ever in trouble.

“You meet almost four years ago?” I blurted out without thinking. Like if I had been drinking something, I’d have spilled it level of blurted out. I composed myself and softened my expression instantly, reminding myself she’s human and calmly said. “Honestly, I really like and respect you so much, I would gladly rent you my house but I feel like at most it’d only be temporary if that’s what you needed. It sounds like your mate has done fairly well explaining a lot of things about our kind to you. She must be really patient because it’s incredibly hard for werewolves to wait so long to mark their mates.

I feel like she might not have told you this much. When a werewolf meets their mate, our bond begins to snap in place as soon as we see and touch our mate for the first time. The longer we wait to mark our mates, it weakens us. Our wolves are constantly at war with us to mark and protect what is ours. The higher ranked a wolf is the more possessive and powerful their werewolf side is. Our mates our like our other half so when we’ve fully accepted and bonded with our mate it makes us stronger. Not bonding with your mate, After you’ve chosen to accept them, it’s like constantly refusing part of your soul.

Since your mate has been keeping her wolf at bay for so many years to keep her wolf side from taking over and marking you, not only would her wolf side be weaker but she would be in more pain each time she has to suppress her wolf by this point.

In werewolf culture, it’s not unusual for our relationships to move, well compared to human relationships, extremely quickly. I know nowadays, humans usually date for like 2-5 years on average before tying the knot. But for werewolves, we usually have our bonding ceremony within six months of accepting each other. And for the most part, it’s generally only the later amount of time for those still in high school.” I took a deep breath and paused my explanation because Monica looked really upset and like she needed a moment.

I continued, “I understand your apprehension regarding moving into a pack. And I am not trying to invalidate or belittle how you are feeling at all. Maybe I can help you work through this though. Ease some of your concerns.”

“I’m kind of scared of being around so many werewolves all the time when I’m just a weak little human compared to them. I know Emerald and her mom are super nice but I know just because the few I’ve meet are good doesn’t mean everyone will be. One of the nights I spent at Emerald’s cabin, we were at her mom’s work and I overheard a couple of werewolves complaining about a human being on pack lands. I’m also worried I’m going to feel all alone or isolated being the only human.”

“You should absolutely discuss these concerns with your mate. But in my opinion, I don’t think you need to worry about the other werewolves. The sacredness of a mate bond is held in the utmost regard. Once you’re introduced to the pack as Emerald’s mate, they’ll either mellow out or at least be on their best behavior around you. If anyone does act disrespectfully, tell your mate and they’ll possibly take you to talk to their Alpha about the issue. The Alpha will handle things promptly. I know their Gamma, they’re a good pack, they treat each other like family.

Your mate accepted you even though you’re human, so she sees your worth and value regardless of your physical strength or abilities. She loves you for who you are and we are fiercely protective of our mates by nature. Our mates balance us. So I don’t doubt she’s fully capable of protecting both of you.

And about feeling alone, I can’t predict the future but I feel it’s easier for us to talk and befriend humans who know about our existence because we don’t have to hide who we are which is way less stress and strain on longtime friendships. And you can still visit your human friends and family outside the pack even if you live there. Just like you would if you were marrying a human. You know occasional outings or dinners, family gatherings, and agreements on how to split up holidays. It’s the same with us, we’re still part human.”

She took a few moments to digest what I just said and she looked relieved. “I actually do feel a lot better about the idea now, thanks for working through that with me. But I also feel like I’ve been treating Emerald badly, forcing her to wait on me for so long. I don’t want her hurting.” A few stray tears fell down her cheek which she quickly wiped away.

“You haven’t treated her badly. You didn’t fully understand because you don’t feel the full effects of the bond that we do. But this goes to show how much Emerald cares about you because she was willing to wait for so long without pressuring you at all.” I explained my respect for her mate increasing. “Just curious, but do you know what her title is? You said earlier she can’t live off pack lands due to her position.”

“She’s an elite warrior but pack doctor bloodline if that makes sense. She guards the pack hospital and sometimes is assigned to guard the Luna.” Monica explained. So that means Emerald works for Zeke. But Zeke just took over as Gamma so she much have been kept on from the previous Gamma’s command or just ‘rehired’ by Zeke.

Pack’s have multiple werewolf doctors on staff obviously, especially in larger packs as the pack doctor can’t be on call 24/7. The true pack doctor, is always the hospital chief, they’re the most specialized in treating our kind, they have some limited healing abilities, and are given the same respect and same value of their opinion equal to that of the Beta.

“Oh so will Emerald eventually take over as pack doctor or will one of her siblings?” I ask.

“She will. She’s been studying since she was sixteen and will be starting her ‘hands on’ experience, just part time, as soon as they pick a new guard for the hospital to cover her shifts there. The Luna’s pregnant and is stressed out about replacing her as her guard even though she’s only her guard three days a week.”

“Morgan and Evelyn are expecting? I’m surprised Zeke didn’t tell me that.”

“I don’t think Luna Evelyn has even told the Alpha yet. Emerald found out when she took Evelyn to be checked due to her throwing up.”

“Her mate’s an Alpha, if she’s far enough along for morning sickness, he’d be able to tell she’s pregnant. It’s like how I can hear your baby’s heartbeat.” I explained.

“What? You can??” Monica’s face lite up like a Christmas tree.

“Yeah. The more powerful our werewolf side is, the more attuned and accurate our enhanced senses are. If I focus on just you, I can easily hear the second heartbeat.”

“This might sound like a dumb question. How can you distinguish between mine and the babies? Is it just where the sound is coming from? Like one you hear obviously from my tummy?” Monica asked and giggled. I couldn’t help laughing at that either. It was a silly question but hey no dumb questions if you don’t understand something.

“Actually fetus heart rates are much faster than adult human heart rates. Like around week 5/6 the fetus heart rate is about 110 beats per minute, it jumps to the highest average around 170 beats at the 9/10 week mark and then goes down to the 140s-130s when you get past half way into the pregnancy. So I’m guessing you’re about 9 weeks?” I explain and ask.

“No I’m only five and half weeks. Like I said I just found out the last round was successful. If the babies heart rate is that fast this week, should I be worried?” She asked genuinely concerned.

“I’m not sure. If you were having a pup, you’d be right on schedule. Humans who give birth to pups are only pregnant for six months. She-wolf pregnancies are only three months. But you conceived through IVF and your mate’s a girl so I assumed you were having a human baby. Sorry for assuming.”

“It’s okay. I used one of Emerald’s donor candidates, they’re werewolf like her, it just felt like the baby would be more similar to both of us that way.” She explained and I nodded. “I’m only going to be pregnant for six months??? Oh my gosh I’m losing so much time.” She began freaking out.

“Calm down. You’re going to be fine.”